Annotated Time Magazine Article on Baez and Folk
Time Magazine picks up quickly on the importance of authenticity in this article. In fact, much of the article is centerred on informing the public on folk music by explaining what is authentic folk and what is inauthentic. One important point in this article is that the author clearly makes a distinction between the authenticity of audience and the authenticity of performance. Time quickly writes off much of folk's audience as seeming to lack authenticity as the author expresses disdain for college students drinking coffee at 60 cents a cup while listening to the music of Appalachia. The author quickly shows readers his snark with regard to folk music, writing, "Anything called a hootenanny ought to be showt on sight." This article is also clearly not targeting folkies, as the article must explain what a hootenanny is, and uses a jazz "jam session" as the point of comparison which readers should understand. This article is most likely targeting an older audience who is likely already curious about the wild popularity of the folk revival and unsure of what to make of it.
Focusing on Joan Baez, this article paints a complex portait of the folk singer, praising her raw and undeniable talent, while simultaneously pointing out her pretentious, if not harshly rude, tendencies. She is shown to be an outsider, painted on the cover wearing no shoes with a burlap shirt and ill fitting blue jeans; essentially the visual opposite of those who would likely pick up and read an issue of time magazine.
Baez is used as a point of comparison for authenticity. The author goes to great lengths to portray her aesthetic of authenticity, yet simultaneously points out the hypocrisy in her portrayal as an authentic musician. The author speaks of her wearing burlap, living in a squalid Big Sur cabin, and failing school classes, all authentic seeming traits. Time Magazine, also points out that she insulted college students she deemed untalented, or lacking in authenticity, and couldn't maintain a lifestyle in her bohemian Big Sur cabin after eight months. Additionally, many of the lines in this article can be read at face value, or read with a snark interpretation to give them very different meanings. For example, depending on the reader's interpretation of the author quoting Baez "Living is my religion," one could interpret that she has an interesting view on life, or that she seems to be a silly liberal who has a trite, oversimplified world view.
Time selects the Kingston Trio and Harry Belafonte as all that is deemed inauthentic in the folk revival. The Kingston Trio is noted for their use of vocal harmonies and "Belaphony" for his backing orchestras, while both are criticized for the extent they profit off their craft. The two are compared to Frank Proffitt who seems to be the epitome of the idealized authenticity that is so controversial in the folk world. Proffitt is noted to have built his own fretless banjo (as if playing banjo wasn't enough the guy doesn't even need to be told where to put his fingers!), neck carved from a tree he cut down himself mounted on a groundhog skin drum. Proffitt is such a perfect example of the authentic aesthetic that he almost seems to be a parody of the genre. This is not lost on the author who notes that while Proffitt has not seen a penny from the Kingston Trio's cover of a song they learned from him, he also notes that a reason many other singers feel more authentic than the Kingstons is that the Kingstons sing too well. One can nearly feel the dripping sarcasm when the author writes that Pete Seeger's inability to hold a tune is what "gives him the seal of authenticity".
This article is most significant as it presents an outsider's perspective on folk music. The author is able to realize that there is much truth in the authenticity of folk singers, much of which can be felt in their music, while also noting that this focus on authenticity is so harsh and cruel that it criticizes genuine artists who wish to expand their style by changing their instrumentation. I would not be surprised if this article's author laughed for minutes when Bob Dylan was booed at the Newport Folk Festival two years later in '65 for playing with an electric band. While I resent this author's snarky remarks on folk music, I appreciate his adept analysis of the crisis of authenticity that lives on to this day in folk music.
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